Vidalia Indians

Vidalia was home to the Vidalia-Lyons Twins, sharing the team in partnership with nearby Lyons, Georgia. The Twins played in the newly reformed six–team Class D level Georgia State League from 1948 to 1950. The team was named the "Twins" because of the close proximity of Vidalia and Lyons. The Vidalia-Lyons Twins advanced to the Georgia State League Finals in 1949. The Twins finished the 1948 regular season with a 54–66 record, placing 5th. The 1949 Twins finished in 4th place with a 72–65 record. In 1950, the Twins had a 56–83 record, placing 7th in the final standings.[2][3][4]

After not fielding a team in 1951, the Vidalia Indians rejoined the 1952 Class D Georgia State League as an affiliate of the Cleveland Indians.[5]

The Vidalia Indians captured the 1952 Georgia State League championship. Vidalia finished 66–58, placing 3rd in the 1952 regular season under Manager Frank "Bull" Hamons, finishing 9.0 games behind the 1st place Eastman Dodgers. After beating the Hazlehurst-Baxley Cardinals 4 games to 2, the Vidalia Indians defeated the Douglas Trojans 4 games to 2 in the league finals to win the championship. The 1952 season attendance for Vidalia was 37,485, an average of 605 per home game.[6][5][7]

In the 1953 season, the Indians finished last. Placing in 8th place in the eight–the team league, the Indians had a 41–82 record under managers Frank Hamons, Jake Daniel and Don Cross. The Indians finished 42.0 games behind 1st place Baxley-Hazlehurst Red Sox in the regular season standings.[8][9][10]

In 1954, Vidalia rebounded from the last place finish and won their second Georgia State League Championship. The Indians finished in 1st place in the regular season, with a 85–44 record under manager James Beavers, 0.5 games ahead of the Douglas Trojans. In the 1954 playoffs, after defeating the Statesboro Pilots 4 games to 2, Vidalia swept the Douglas Trojans 4 games to 0 in the league finals. During their championship season of 1954, the Indians had season attendance of 53,334.[11][12][13]

In 1955, Vidalia finished with a 56–54 record, in 4th place, 7.0 games behind the Douglas Trojans, to qualify for the playoffs. The Indians lost in the first round of the playoffs under player/manager Ed Levy. In the playoffs,the Douglas Trojans defeated the Vidalia Indians 3 games to 1 as Gary Bell finished 7–5 with a 3.33 ERA.[14][15]

In their final season, the Indians finished 3rd in the 1956 regular season with a 63–57 record, 14.0 games behind the Douglas Reds, playing under manager Mark Wylie. In the first round of the playoffs, the Douglas Reds beat the Vidalia Indians 3 games to 2. Dick Stigman was 17–9 with a 1.44 ERA. Vidalia had 1956 season attendance of 17,273, an average of 288 per game. The Georgia State League permanently folded operations after the 1956 season.[16][9][17]

Vidalia has not hosted another minor league baseball team.[18]

The Indians and Twins played at Vidalia Municipal Stadium.[19][20][21]

• Gary Bell (1955) 4x MLB All-Star
• Don Dillard (1955)
• Dick Stigman (1956) 2x MLB All-Star

• Baseball Reference

Vidalia Indians players